cheap

This is my first helmet, and although I've bought another I still wear this one. Very comfortable, it doesn't move on my head, and most of the time I forget that it is there. It was a cheap option when I was looking around, and I have no complaints. I think anyone would be very happy to purchase it.

Very nice helmet. I bought it as a second helmet and it works well. It is comfortable and it wasn't expensive. My only complaint is that sometimes when I tighten the hat it catches my hair and pulls, which is not fun. Other than that, really good hat.

I own a lot of ATCs, but if I could only own one, this would be it. Belay a second, assisted catch on lead, light, safe, exactly what you want. It works well in every situation, and the only reason you would want something else would be if you aren't that comfortable belaying or you know your climber will spend a lot of time hang dogging a route. Those situations call for a grigri, but everything else, 95% of climbing, this is the one that you want.

I've been using the Dash Dirtbag 'draws for a few months now, almost exclusively on sport routes. Although I was not initially impressed by how these draws looked, climb after climb, I find myself reaching for these things instead of the other draws in my pack. The simple reason is that they work. For such a dirt-cheap draw, the Dash Dirtbags do what they're supposed to do and they do it pretty damn well. No pretty colors, no fancy key-lock nose, just easy clipping bolt after bolt. They're size is deceptive too. At first I thought they were going to be a little small, and with two straight gates they may not clip the rope effectively. Wrong. The smaller size and rounded nose actually make clipping bolts pretty easy. Especially those bolts where the threads are protruding and might interfere with larger carabiners. The Dash Dirtbags clip ropes surprisingly well also. The dog-bones are sewn tight around the rope-side 'biner, which negates the need for a rubber keeper and makes identifying the loosely sewn bolt-side 'biner easy enough for proper racking.

Conclusion: If you're looking for a dirt cheap quickdraw that will last for years and won't leave you cursing at each clip, the Dash Dirtbags will perform admirably. But if you're someone that wants to look like they climb so hard they need the absolute best (read: most expensive) gear available, these are not for you.

In my opinion you cannot use the BD wire gate oval that comes with their nut set to hold your nuts. You need a solid gate (oval) biner. I was told this by a climbing mentor once before I led a climb (with my new nuts and accompanying wire gate biner). I thought “ok, sure, I'll think about it” at first. And then during the climb I experienced the reason why a wire gate biner is not a good idea here. When testing the nut, giving it a good tug with the biner/rest of the nuts, the placed nut somehow came free off the biner. What?! That week I purchased this solid gate oval and have never had this issue again. The gate action is also smooth and a great resistance. If somebody stole this biner, I would buy it again. I wish BD would sell their nuts with this solid gate instead.


I'm too lazy to take all my nuts off this biner to use it for my glacier travels, so I use the oval wire gate biner that came with the nuts for my rescue system instead (with pullys/prussiks). Because ovals really do work a ton better for a pully system.